Wedding season is in full bloom and so is our giveaway from Minted! Make sure to head over to our facebook page and tell us what is your favorite invitation. Lavender is on trend this season, and I love it paired with grey, lime green, or even pink! It makes a lovely, sophisticated palette for a bridal shower, birthday luncheon, or summer wedding.

Our fabulous sponsor, Minted, has launched an amazing new wedding collection (if you are in the market, the collection is currently 15% off – run, don’t walk!). To celebrate, they have offered us a giveaway you are all going to be excited about:

Minted is giving one of our readers 50 invitations of their choice (up to $100 in value). Fabulous, right?!

Here’s how to play: Head over to Minted, scroll thru their amazing collection of invitations and then leave a comment on our facebook page (you must be a fan, or become a fan) on what your favorite invitation is….it can be any type of party invitation. And if you are looking for a little inspiration, see some of our favorites below!

The contest starts NOW and ends Friday, May 28, 2010 at midnight. We’ll announce the winner on Saturday. Good Luck!

My post over at Project Nursery today was a little to sweet not to share with you!

The first step in planning your kid’s birthday parties is determining what their current “likes” or passions are – and let’s face it, I have never met a kid that doesn’t LOVE candy! A candy-themed birthday party is a no-brainer for any age group, and with the candy/dessert table trend going strong – how can you resist?!

I just love this invitation from WH Hostess – it reminds me of gumballs! And is the perfect start to our candy-themed party! Carry that colorful look throughout your entire party……

Here are a few ideas:

*Welcome your guests with a wreath made out of balloons (but looks like candy, right?!) hanging on your front door.

*Decorate your table with colorful linens (if you are a crafty momma, you could create a table cloth or runner out of felt – no sewing required!) You can incorporate big, bold flowers and polka dots too….the more colors and patterns you use, the better in this case!

*Create centerpieces out of candy! Vases full of gumballs, urns full of candy with lollipop sticking out, bowls full of m&m’s or licorice.

*Skip the juice for this party….the kids will be getting enough sugar from all the candy! Dress up water bottles with polka dotted labels that match the invitation.

I spend a lot of time talking about birthday parties around here, however there are so many other celebrations that involve kids! Baptisms, first communions, graduations, team parties, end-of-the-year picnics….the list goes on and on. These are big events in their little lives and deserved to be celebrated! Boy parties are complicated in my opinion – it’s tough to find the perfect balance of “boy” and the cutesy details we all love so much. My answer?! Clean and modern, with a preppy twist.

I love the idea of this “little man” party. The “summer stripes” invitation from WH Hostess sets a fresh color palette of blue, lime green and yellow. You can carry the colors throughout the party with a few simple touches: blue ribbon flags on straws, a blue and green candy bar, and (this is my favorite idea) cupcakes topped with bow-ties and neckties, and sugar cookies shaped like ties and mustaches. (So cute, right?!)

I think this theme would be precious for a baby boy’s baptism, or a first communion celebration!

It’s been a bit of a crazy week in my house…..all of the hustle and bustle has made me crave a simple weekend on my patio! I was scrolling thru Williams Sonoma’s recipe bank today and found a couple of recipes that I must try! (and I think you may want to, too!) Any of these would be perfect for a summer party, a cocktail and appetizer party, or a Memorial Day bbq.

I have been SO excited to share this party with you! I know I dangled a carrot in front of you on Friday with a peek at the inspiration board…..but trust me, it was well worth the wait!

So, where to begin?! Let’s start at the beginning….Maia’s mommy contacted WH Hostess to do a custom inspiration board for her daughter’s 1st birthday party. She wanted a fiesta-themed party – since it was Maia’s first birthday (and it fell the beginning of May), how could we resist not doing a “Cinco de Maia” theme?! You all saw the inspiration board here, and here is what we came up with:

The missoni-like, zig zag pattern from the invitation set the color palette for the party. Hot pink, orange and yellow made a festive combination that we used for the entire event! Some of my favorite elements to the party included the fabulous ribbon chandelier hanging over the table, a custom banner (featuring the zig zag pattern), and the amazing patterned paper lanterns from Jonathan Adler (aren’t they just perfect for this theme!?). Cupcake toppers took on a modern look with an updated square shape, and jars of candy made for a very colorful table!

Maia’s mom did a fabulous job carrying the color palette throughout – notice the coordinating izze drinks, the balloons and the beautiful flowers! She displayed the party favors beautifully – mini bubbles (wrapped with custom labels) and hot pink maracas (embellished with a zig zig gift tag) were placed on a 3-tier serving piece on the table. A great idea that you could adapt for any party!

This was such a fun party to work on – and you know what I love about it?! It’s simple. It’s all about one fabulous pattern, three beautiful colors and a couple key decorations that pulled it all together! Great job, Kristen! And a happy, happy 1st birthday, Maia!

The ideas from this party could easily be translated into any type of summer party – a birthday celebration, a bridal shower, or a fiesta-themed dinner party! To see more parties planned by WH Hostess, click here. And for more details about the party goods created for this party, here you go:

I’m leaving you today with a sneak peek of our latest party from WH Hostess. This is the custom inspiration board I created for a sweet 1 year old named Maia. Her mom came to me to create a concept and party goods for her fiesta themed party….and here is where it all started! Head on back on Monday to see how the party turned out! (PS – it’s amazing and you won’t want to miss it!)

Happy Friday, Everyone! I hope you are all looking forward to the weekend! We’ve had so many fabulous party features this week – from a WH Hostess “Princess Chic” party, to a stunning, Spring baby shower, ideas for a preppy table, and for a sophisticated outdoor table – it’s been a busy week! I promise next week will be just as enticing!

Before I leave you for the weekend, I thought I would introduce you to some of our new collections from WH Hostess. Planning a party this summer – WH Hostess has fresh, modern party supplies that are sure to make you the hostess to envy!

I’m L-O-V-I-N-G this new kelly green and aqua t-link pattern! Perfect for a “Palm Beach Preppy” party this summer!

Who doesn’t love a garden party?! Perfect for a child’s birthday party or a baby shower…..or even a garden walk event!

Blue elephants are all the rage this Spring! I love our take on the cute, preppy circus theme! (also available in pink & green!)

This vintage fire truck collection is perfect for a sweet little boy!

Our confetti invitation is colorful and festive! Perfect for an adult’s surprise party or a child’s candy-themed party!

I fell in love with this image from The Knot – it’s the perfect solution to the “I want large floral centerpieces, but don’t want to block my guests view” problem! Not to mention it looks so new and fresh! I think you could take this concept and scale it down a little bit for an outdoor party this summer, too. If you have a covered patio or want to pitch a party tent in your backyard, you could totally re-create this look. A few hanging plants (make sure to get the “pretty” pots), a few hanging candles – it’s sure to leave your guests saying “wow!”

This beautiful baby shower was sent to me by photographer, Wendy Updegraff. Thrown for her sister, no detail was left undone!

The color palette for the party was inspired by the Tiny Prints invitation. A tent covered the beautiful table setting, and was decorated with paper lanters and a special “baby Mama” banner. They made sugar scrub jars for the party favors and it doubled as the placecard. My favorite decorative element is definitely the huge Z they covered in artificial flowers…the baby-to-be’s name is Zoe. Baby Zoe’s room is to be decorated with bla-bla dolls so they made tags on the back of all of the chairs with cut outs of different bla-bla dolls. And here is a darling activity: while the guest of honor, opened gifts, they had baskets of ribbons, glue and buttons for the guests to make baby Zoe hair clips! Too cute, right?!